The Center Cannot Hold
by FallenUpStairs
Summary: His father is back and everything around him seems to be crumbling before his eyes. Sequel to Things Fall Apart.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I am a fic posting machine. The quality of said posts leaves plenty to be desired. Moving on, here it is the first part in the sequel to _Things Fall Apart_. Therefore, if you have not read the aforementioned fic it would be very helpful to read it first otherwise you might be a bit lost.

And I hope any returning readers remember my love of hitting the canon in the face with my trusty shovel.

**Summary: **His father is back and everything around him seems to be crumbling before his eyes. Sequel to Things Fall Apart.

**Disclaimer: **What? I still don't own Young Justice? Dang.

* * *

><p><em>The Center Cannot Hold<em>

_Part One_

"_Dad?"_

Ever since the explosion that gave Wally his powers, he always felt antsy, like he needed to be constantly moving. He didn't feel that way right now, instead Wally felt frozen in place as he stared at his father, a man that he had not seen in nearly half a decade.

"Wallace." Rudy repeated staring down at his son.

His mind finally kicked in at hearing his full name once more. There was so much that he could have done right now; Wally could hug his father (completely out of the question), he could demand to know why his father was here, he could greet him and allow him inside, or he could just sock his father right in the mouth. Out of all those options, Wally went with the very first thing that popped into his head.

He slammed the door shut in Rudy's face.

The palms of his hands pressed against the door, to his horror Wally realized that his arms were shaking. No, his entire body was shaking. What was _he _doing here?

"Wallace please, I just want to talk."

Wally barked out a laugh, "Talk? After all these years you want to talk _now_?"

"Wallace son, I've wanted to see you, _talk to you _long before this, but your Uncle he wouldn't let me anywhere near you." Rudy's voice was muffled by the door.

That gave Wally a pause, Uncle Barry wouldn't let Rudy see him? He didn't know whether to be happy or angry, though the first one seemed like a better option. Still.

After taking a deep breath, Wally opened the door again glaring up at his father, "Then how come you're here now?"

"Please son, just let me in and we can talk." His dad pleaded? No, his father never pleaded, he demanded.

Sensing his hesitation, Rudy pressed, "It's about your mother."

"Mom?"

Since moving in with Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry, Wally received a letter from his mother every two months. For a while, Wally would write back but when he turned thirteen he stopped, by the time he turned fifteen, she stopped sending letters too. Wally just figured that she had given up or no longer cared.

"Just let me in so we can talk."

Wally nearly vibrated where he stood. He didn't _want _to, frankly he was afraid to but, he had to. He stepped back, opening the door wider allowing his father to step inside.

"Thank-you." Rudy sighed, walking in. His head turned looking around the house, "Is there somewhere we can sit."

The speedster rubbed his arm after closing the door, "Uh, yeah." He stammered putting a wide birth between him and his father as he walked around Rudy leading the way into the kitchen. Closing his text book and notebook, Wally shoved his work to the side clearing the table then sat down. Rudy sat in the chair closest to his son. Wally would be lying if he said he hadn't leaned away slightly.

"What happened to mom? Where is she?"

Rudy's mouth pressed together forming a thin line so only his mustache was showing, "She left me a few months ago."

_Good. _Wally's first thought before replaying the sentence in his head. A few months ago? Wally always hoped that his mother would leave Rudy and well, come get him.

"About a week ago I got a phone call. A boat that your mother was on capsized, they-" his father stopped, Wally stopped breathing, "They didn't find her body."

"No." Tears pricked at his eyes.

"She's gone Wallace, I'm sorry." His father's own eyes looked sorrowful, almost as if he was truly sincere. Rudy extended a hand and touched Wally's arm.

The reaction was instant, Wally yanked his arm away jolting up from his seat, the chair clattered to the floor. "No! You're lying, she's not- she can't be." He wasn't going to cry.

Rudy followed suit, standing up from his chair regarding ally like a deer that could spook at any moment, "I'm sorry Wallace, I really am." This time his father rested his hands on his son's shoulders, Wally didn't bother to shrug them off, he was too numb.

The first tear slipped free soon followed by more, a choked sop escaped him. His mother was dead. For years he had hoped that she would show up and take him back, for years he was mad at her for sending him away, for years he thought that maybe she just didn't want him anymore, for hears he _still loved her. _Now, now he was never going to see her again.

His father offered an awkward smile, "She'd be proud of you, fourteen now."

Wally wiped his face with his sleeve, desperately trying to stop his face from becoming any wetter, "I'm fifteen."

"Fifteen.' He repeated looking at the table. "Advance Physics?" he questioned reading the textbook's title.

The speedster nodded not exactly trust himself to form a complete sentence.

"And you must be a sophomore? That's amazing son." The teen could tell how awkward the compliment was.

"You're bad at this." He said flatly, glad that his breathing didn't hitch.

Rudy's smile faltered, "I know, I'm trying. You're all I have left Wallace and I-"

The sound of the front door opening interrupted Rudy.

"Hey kid, I'm home." His Uncle's voice came from the front door, "Your Aunt said she was going to be coming home late, so we're on our own for dinner."

Barry froze in the kitchen's doorway, taking in the sight of Wally and Rudy standing by the table. The older man's hands on Wally's shoulder and his nephew's eyes were red, almost like he was-

"Get away from him."

Wally nearly jumped never having heard his Uncle sound that angry before. The hands hand on his shoulder tightened causing Wally to flinch, Barry didn't miss the reaction. Barry pulled his nephew back almost fast enough that Wally swore his Uncle used his powers.

"What are you doing here?" Barry demanded placing himself in front of the still shocked teen.

"I'm here to see my son." Rudy hissed. Wally flinched again, a brief flash of a similar hiss and then falling down a flight of steps.

Barry looked over his shoulder, "Wally, go wait in your room."

"No." Rudy protested instantly.

Wally looked between his father and uncle before walking around them and heading to his room. Barry waited until he heard the click of Wally's door shut, "You lost your son the minute you laid a hand on him Rudolf."

"He's not your son Bartholomew, I told you five years ago that I was going to get him back and I intend to."

"I'm only going to tell you this once Rudy, stay away from him."

"Or what? The infamous Flash will do something if I don't?" Rudy sneered.

Barry froze, Rudy laughed.

"I'm no fool Barry. I know yours and Wallace's little secret and I won't hesitate to let it slip."

The pale haired man's knuckles turned white, "Get out of my home." He ordered with a cold calmness.

Rudy grinned, a hard glint in his brown eyes, "I'll be back."

Barry followed after Rudy to the door, locking it as soon as the other man was outside.

This, this wasn't good. The same feeling he got five years ago resurfaced. This wasn't over, but this wasn't a problem that the Flash could solve or Barry Allen the police scientist. Sighing, Barry pushed himself away from the door and headed down the hall.

He just hoped Kid wasn't the one to suffer any possible repercussions.

_To be continued_

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><p><strong>Final Thought: <strong>_Well, I don't know about you but I'm satisfied with this chapter. Probably not what was wanted but, I like long chapters as much as the next person but this is probably going to be multiple short chapters, otherwise I probably won't finish it._

_I guess I should warn you, I am rubbish at finishing multi-chaptered fics, the prequel to this was like a stroke of luck because it was only three parts. But I have a troupe of people who are probably going to be bothering me until I finish this one, I've never had that before._

_I'll be working on finishing the next part and try to get it up as soon as I'm done. Until then, this is Fallen signing off. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **I actually have a number of excuses, but it all really boils down to one, I was really really lazy. This is something that is going to probably become very obvious as time progresses. And now it's time, for probably the most randomly flowing chapter there will be.

**Summary: **His father is back and everything around him seems to be crumbling before his eyes. Sequel to Things Fall Apart.

**Disclaimer: **I own Season One Volume One now, jealous?

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><p><em>The Center Cannot Hold<em>

_Part Two_

Barry hesitated outside his nephew's bed room, he did not know why he didn't just go inside. Maybe it was because he wasn't sure how he was going to find Wally or maybe it was because his nerves were still tingling from his short conversation with Rudy. Barry knew he should have decked the man in the face the moment he saw Wally's father, hero be damned. Finally calming himself, Barry knocked on the door before turning the knob and letting himself in.

Wally was seated on his bed, an open book in his lap, but the boy wasn't reading instead, Wally was looking straight ahead at the opposite wall. Barry couldn't be sure if the kid even knew he was there, "Kid?"

Wally blinked, breaking out of his trance and looked at his Uncle. Wally attempted to smile but failed, "Hey, Uncle Barry." he greeted closing the book before placing it on his bedside table.

"You alright?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the teen's bed. Wally shifted so that he was sitting straighter, unwilling to look at his Uncle directly.

"I'll be okay."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" There were no physical signs that Rudy did anything to his son, but with speedsters you could never tell. Still, Wally shook his head.

"No, he said." Wally broke off, blinking hard. Barry recognized the action from when Wally was younger and he was desperately trying to not cry. "He told me that mom, that she was-." Wally closed his eyes. Barry didn't want to push and he dreaded that he already knew what Wally was about to say. "He said that she died." Wally finally choked out "I'm being stupid." He ground out scrubbing furiously at his eyes.

"No." Barry said pulling his nephew closer, "You're not."

Wally allowed himself to be pulled in, "Yes I am. I haven't seen her in years and I'm crying like an idiot."

"Wally." Barry said trying to calm the boy by carding his fingers through the ginger hair, "She's your mother, you have every right to be upset."

Wally pushed himself away and sat beside his Uncle, his hands still rubbing at his eyes, "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Of course you don't." Barry said softly. Due to the state his nephew was in, Barry did not want to press the boy to an even more fragile point. "Wally, did he say anything to you?"

Giving his nose a final wipe with his sleeve, "No." he stopped for a brief pause, "He said that he wanted to see me before, but you wouldn't let him."

_Rudy. _He hadn't changed at all, already the man was trying to manipulate the boy's thoughts. That wasn't much of a surprise, what else could he expect from someone like Rudolf? "Kid, that isn't true, at least not _completely._"

Wally tilted his head a bit, "What?"

Barry sat back, "Your father never came to me or your Aunt saying that he wanted to see you, but even if he did I can't honestly say that I would let him." At Wally's perplexed look, Barry continued, "When I first met you Kid, you had to be the most fearful kid I had ever met, but you trusted me to keep you safe and I'm not going to betray that trust anytime soon kiddo."

Wally averted his eyes, the tips of his ears burned bright red, "Uncle B."

"But, I know it's your life and I can't always stop you from doing certain things, just know that your Aunt and I are here for you, alright?"

"I know Uncle Barry and thanks."

"No problem Kid, it's what families do."

.:...:.

Wally missed homeschooling, after the incident that gave him his powers, he was forced to stay home for a few months until he was used to the sudden "changes" in his life. Public school wasn't bad per-say, Wally just wasn't its biggest fan. There were friends but, it felt like there were just as many people who weren't very fond of him. Wally was just going to go with that they were threatened by his intelligence and were too dumb to know that's what their problem was. By the time the clock hit two-thirty, Wally was ready to leave and once he was in the clear, he could hightail it out of there and head out. He just had to get past all the other students that were leaving.

As he stumbled to the side when a faceless student shouldered past him, Wally really wanted to push back, good thing he had self control yeah? His Uncle said that he would meet up with Wally a block away from the school, which wasn't anything new except, ever since his father "dropped in", Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris were keeping close to Wally. At first he thought it was unnecessary because once the initial shock wore off, Wally found that he had no plausible reason to believe what Rudy had told him. A few days and an article later, Wally knew he had no cause to doubt it anymore and this didn't sit well with him. Wally would love any reason to not believe what his father told him, he welcomed it. Though, for the time being, the speedster was going to stand by that just because Rudy told the truth once didn't mean that he was going to continue doing so.

Weaving his way through the group of milling students, Wally saw the canary yellow of the school buses lined up in front, he just had to make it past those and he was in the clear.

"Wallace!"

Then again, maybe he wasn't. Wally could just push on and pretend that he didn't hear his name being called. Problem was, that would probably qualify as common sense and that was just something he lacked. Rather than going to meet up with his Uncle, Wally sought out the one who called his name.

Rudy stood beside what Wally could only guess was his father's car, the older man checked the surrounding people, Wally couldn't exactly blame him. "What?"

His father stood a little straighter, "I wasn't happy about how we ended things the other day."

"Really? Because I'm just fine with it." Wally said shrugging, "I have to go."

Just as he turned to walk away, a hand grabbed his upper arm, "I want to talk to you Wallace."

Wally stood still as the words were nearly growled at him, the hand closed around his arm was almost painful. Before he could even blink, the hand was gone.

"I'm sorry." It sounded sincere, "Please, just hear me out son."

Wally's back faced the man, his hands shaking and yet, he turned around. "What do you want?"

Rudy sighed, maybe in relief, "I know you have every right not to trust me-"

"Thanks for the heads up."

"-but I want a second chance. I want us to be a family again."

As nice as that sounded, coming from this man, there was not as much backing to it, more fantasy than reality.

"All I'm asking for is one more chance, Wallace." At Wally's silence, Rudolf pressed, "Think about it and this Saturday meet me in the park just up the road."

Saturday was four days away, definitely not enough time for him. Then again it was, Wally wasn't going back to Rudy. Nothing could possibly happen in that span of time to change his mind. Perhaps sensing Wally''s stand firm position, Rudy implored him. "Just think about it." and he left Wally without another word, just got into his car and started the engine.

A few minutes later, when Wally met up with his Uncle, Barry asked why his nephew was so late. Wally just shrugged, "I was talking to someone."

Not like he was lying.

.:...:.

"Okay, that hurt." Kid Flash groaned after spitting out a mouthful of dirt and grass. At least he knew that he could relate to Supey in one area; he was really starting to hate monkeys. Even though, Grodd was sure to remind him that he was in fact an ape and not a money. Hey, Kong Junior ate bananas, was hairy, and looked like a monkey, so to KF, he was a monkey.

Half an hour into their patrol, an alert went out about a break out near Union Square. Not a jail break either, a Zoo break, something about starting an ape army, blablah, Kid Flash quit paying attention a sentence in, it was the same old thing every time. Grodd wanted to start his own version of Planet of the Apes. The young speedster only really started to pay attention when a ham sized fist came at him. He managed to avoid the normal monkeys (apes, whatever) but, Grodd and that helmet of his sent KF flying and he learned what dirt tasted like all over again.

"You okay, Kid?" Flash called out, when the redhead turned his head to reply, he saw the Scarlet Speedster thrown into a brick wall.

"Flash!" Kid shouted, pushing himself up before ramming into both his and Flash's attacker, Grodd.

At that moment KF learned another thing, hitting an over sized ape was similar to hitting a concrete wall, except the concrete wall didn't smell this bad. Grodd gave a throaty chuckle as he wrapped his large hand around Kid Flash's throat and lifted the teen up. "Foolish move, Flash Boy." Grodd sneered, at least Kid Flash was assuming it was a sneer, his face always looked like that to him.

The ginger speedster kicked his legs at the ape hoping that he could deal some damage that way. However, the attempt only caused Grodd to increase the pressure he was apply to the speedster's neck. Kid Flash coughed, pushing at the hand holding him with his own.

"I can see your thoughts, Flash Boy." Grodd growled.

Kid Flash gagged, "Haven't you ever heard of breath mints? Did something die in there?"

Grodd glared, his hold tightened, "Poor human child, a mother and father who do not love you."

He began to squirm, if ever there was a time he wished he could vibrate his molecules, it was now. "Shut up, Cloverfield reject." he rasped.

"So confused and lost." Grodd laughed. "Everything crumbling around him."

Kid's vision was blackening around the edges. His attempts to free himself were weakening,

"No real friends, the ones you call friends do not care for Flash Boy. They only lie to you, pretend to like poor Flash Boy."

He tried to say something, but only a pathetic wheeze came out.

"He does not want you either, never has, you are a burden." Kid Flash stilled, "Never his son, only a boy he took pity on."

"Shut-up!"

"Flash Boy, always destined to never be loved or wanted. Grodd will end your suffering."

Kid Flash gasped as the little oxygen that he had in him was literally squeezed out of him, black dots danced before his eyes. The young speedster went limp in Grodd's hand, vision dark. He didn't hear Flash cry out his name or felt himself fall to the ground.

Grodd's words continued to repeat over and over in his head as the darkness took him.

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><p><strong>Final Thoughts <strong>_Sooo, want some good news? PART THREE IS ALREADY DONE. And by done, I mean it's written and I still have to type it. Which I will...like tomorrow...okay maybe not. But it'll be up sooner than a month. I hope my Grodd wasn't bad, I've never read any comics with him in it, I was basically using this one person's Grodd persona from this YJ rpg site I'm apart of_. _Commas and spelling errors I know, I know. I'm getting a beta, but she keeps passing out on me. Until the next part this is Fallen signing out saying, stay classy readers.  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Hi there. See? You didn't have to wait a month. The first small part of this chapter was written while I was listening to this one song on repeat, _Wonderful _by Everclear. So, I "borrowed" a few lyrics too.

**Summary: **His father is back and everything around him seems to be crumbling right before his eyes. Sequel to Things Fall Apart.

**Disclaimer: **I own a notebook full of my writing of Young Justice, that's about it. Wait. Nope, that's it.

* * *

><p><em>The Center Cannot Hold<em>

_Part Three_

_Wally covered his ears trying to drown out the sound of his father shouting from downstairs. Though muffled, he could still make out the familiar raised voice, only his mother's own meek one seemed to be muted. When his dad started shouting, his mother told him to go to his room, close his eyes, and cover his ears. When it was over, she would come up and get him. Recently, the shouting seemed louder to the point that the only place Wally felt safe was in his closet. _

_He hoped that one day, his dad would find out why he would get so mad, hearing him scream and say bad words all the time scared Wally. He just wished that life would go back to the way it used to be, when his mommy and daddy were happy. School was the worst though, all the other kids were always smiling and laughing. His teacher would ask him if everything was okay, he would always say yes, he didn't want his teacher to know when the bell rang, he didn't want to go home._

_The shuttered doors to his closet opened, Wally felt the sunlight on his skin. Soft hands grabbed his arms, pulling them away from his ears. "Wally, honey." his mother whispered. "When I count to ten, open your eyes, okay?" Wally nodded._

_"One"_

_Two_

_Three _

_Four_

_Five_

_Six _

_Seven_

_Eight _

_Nine_

_"Ten. Alright, open your eyes." Wally did as he was told, his mother smiled at him. "Everything is wonderful now."_

_She would always tell him that when the yelling was over, that everything was wonderful. His mom would count to ten and tell him the same thing and he believed her. At first. Recently, he didn't understand how she could smile with tears in her eyes and say everything was wonderful._

_"Mommy?"_

_His mother pulled him forward, wrapping her arms around him. One hand laced through his hair. Wally hugged her back with all the strength he possessed in his small frame. _

_"Every-"_

_"Mommy, please don't tell me everything is wonderful now." Wally murmured against her shoulder. His mother's body shuddered and he thought he heard her whisper;_

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."_

l-l

"Kid? Wally? Can you hear me?"

His dream faded back to a fuzzy memory, his senses were aware that he wasn't laying on the hatred ground anymore and the air didn't reek of Grodd either. Which meant that he was still alive or he died. Once he shifted, Wally knew it couldn't be the latter, judging by the sourness in his neck and chest.

"Had me scared there for a scared for a second, Kid." his Uncle sighed in relief from beside him. Through half lidded eyes, Wally looked at the older speedster.

"Grodd?" he winced at how raw his voice sounded. He felt cool glass press into his hand, he murmured his thanks before drinking some of the water.

"Back in his pen where he belongs." he assured, "How do you feel?"

The teenager pushed himself up, promping himself up against a pillow, "Throat hurts, but that's all."

"Good." Barry said, settling back into what looked like Wally's desk chair.

_He does not want you. _

The ginger speedster nearly flinched as Grodd's words came back to him. They weren't true, his Aunt and Uncle loved, they took him in. But. What if? For years a thought remained in the back of his mind, that he was burdening them, that maybe they wanted a family of their own but Wally was in the way. Except Wally always managed to push those thoughts away.

"You okay, Kid?" Barry's voice broke Wally out of his trance like state.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Barry hooked two fingers on Wally's shirt collar (only now did he notice his Kid Flash uniform)."That'll take another day to heal completely, looks like you get to skip school tomorrow, that will make your Aunt happy."

He touched his neck, wincing at how tender his skin was, which probably meant there was a decent sized bruise there. That marks it, he and Supey were going to start an anti-monkey club. But, on the bright side, no dreary classes to go to.

l-l

"Wally! What are you doing here?" M'gann greeted, floating over to the speedster upon hearing the computer system announce his arrival.

"Hey, Megalicious, my day just got a whole lot better." Wally said, for once he didn't have to force himself to grin.

Seeing as how he didn't have to stick around school today and being home alone was too boring, Wally left a note saying he was going to be at the Mountain all day. Here, Wally didn't have to worry about the chaotic mess he called his life back in Central.

"Was your day bad before you arrived?" the green martian asked evidently concerned for her teammate.

"No, I was just, it was awesome before and not it's even more awesome." he said, it sounded completely lame and fake even to him.

"Good job, Kid Smooth." a voice cackled from the other side of the room, there was no mistaking the owner of that voice.

"Dude! What are you doing here?" Wally repeated M'gann's previous question, zipping over to the couch where the Boy Wonder was seated but not before winking at the female martian.

"I could ask you the same question, KF." Robin retorted and Wally swore the younger's sunglasses flashed.

"Yeah, but I asked first." Wally countered jumping over the back of the couch landing beside the Boy Wonder.

Robin snorted, "A run in with Bane ended with the west wing of my school collapsing, no big deal." he explained with a shrug, "You?"

"Small fight with Grodd." Wally replied deciding to keep it vague.

"Small fight, huh?" Robin repeated inching his head upward, trained not to miss a single detail, it was a cake walk catching a glimpse of the yellow skin on the speedster's neck. "You know a turtle neck would cover that up, better."

"Pass." Turtlenecks were itchy anyways.

"You know, Supey is off trying to book a show on the Maury Povich show, Aqualad is talking to the whales and Miss M is planning on what looks like a hundred layer cake." Robin trailed off.

"And?"

"Up to going to Gotham?" Robin asked the corner of his mouth corked up.

"Rob, you know Flash doesn't like me going there." Wally lowered his voice so only the young acrobat could hear him.

"So, we won't tell him, simple enough." Robin said as if he was explaining how to open a door to a three year old who didn't know what sarcasm was.

"Won't Bats rat us out?"

"He's away on a last minute League mission in Tibet or the moon, point is, there's nothing to worry about." Robin shrugged.

"Fine." Wally relented, "But, you have to talk to my Uncle if I scrape my knee."

"Yeah, yeah, woe is the speedster with the mother hen posing as his mentor."

"...Shut up."

.:...:.

_You have no true friends_

"Wally!"

The speedster blinked once the younger teen snapped his fingers in front of Wally's face, "Huh? What?"

Eyes, now absent of sunglasses narrowed at the other, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." he answered perhaps a little too quickly. He was going to have to work on his ability to lie if he wanted to fool the kid who was being trained by the world's greatest detective.

"You don't seem 'fine', you keep spacing out. Are you sure you didn't hit your head yesterday too?" the usual snark returned to the Boy Wonder's voice, though Wally knew that snark was Dick's own brand of concern.

"Don't worry Dick, the head's perfect okay, I've just been a bit distracted."

Dick moved his gaze forward, looking at the other Gothamites as they walked down Union Square, "You know you can tell me if you want."

_Those you call friends don't care_

_Shut-up. _Wally scolded the annoying voice that kept popping into his thoughts, "I'll keep that in mind."

Dick hid his disappointment, deciding that if anything was going on with his friend, Wally would tell him, "Alright." he sighed, "What do you want to do?"

The better part of the day was spent roaming from the nearest arcade to the park, where Wally conned Dick into buying him half a dozen hotdogs from a vendor. Dick's ire towards the speedster was starting to steadily increase the more Wally began to space out. On top of that, the usual Kid Mouth was barely saying more than a sentence of words. Every time the young acrobat would ask if the other was okay he would get the same _I'm fine. _Dick swore, if he heard another, _I'm fine, _he was going to throw himself into Gotham Harbor.

"Wally! What the hell is-"

"Hey, isn't that Arty?"

"What?" Dick blurted looking in the direction the speedster was. Sure enough, the only blonde archer on their team was standing in front of them, starring directly at the two, "Crap, crap, crap." Dick cursed pulling his sunglasses out and putting them on just as Artemis began walking towards the two.

"What are you two doing here? And did I just see you without your glasses?" she asked, directing the last question to Robin.

"Seeing things again, afriend*? You know that isn't healthy." Robin smirked.

"I knew it, you do live in Gotham." Wally laughed at the same time.

Artemis' eyebrows knitted together now fully annoyed at her two teammates, "I know what I saw and-" she glared at Wally, "I told you before geek, I don't live here."

Wally snorted, "Then what are you doing here?"

"The same as you, walking." she snapped, "Why wasn't he wearing his glasses?"

"You've obviously been in the sun too long, afriend, you should head inside." Robin said with mock concern.

"Yeah, Artechoke, maybe you need to lay down."

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Artemis hissed at the speedster, "Don't tell me _he _knows your secret identity."

"_Please, _like I would tell Kid _Mouth _of all people." Robin snorted.

_They only pretend to like you_

Wally looked down at the gray stone, trying to block out the words. Though the response went unnoticed by Robin, it didn't escape Artemis'.

"As much fun as it is talking to you Artymess, I have to go." Robin sighed with a tad bit of dramatic flare, "Try not to run into any walls on your way back, Wally." Just like that, the Boy Wonder ducked into the nearest alleyway, pulling a ninja on them.

Artemis crossed her arms, "Okay, Baywatch, spill it."

"Spill what?" Wally asked trying to play innocent.

"You can't fool me, Wally, and what happened to your neck?" She asked eyes already trailing towards the mentioned part.

Wally pulled his over-shirt up so that the collar was snugged against his neck, "I messed up."

The archer scoffed, "Why doesn't that surprise me." Wally's gaze narrowed at Artemis as she continued, "And don't even think about lying, did Robin seriously tell you his real name?"

"What does it even matter if he did? It doesn't concern you, _Artefact."_

Artemis ignored the nick name, "Yes, it does. We're a team now, what one of us knows concerning another teammate, the rest of us should know."

"That's rich coming from you." Wally snapped, the archer stood still, quiet now. "What? You're allowed to keep your life secret, but I'm not?" Wally snapped his mouth shut realizing his mistake too late.

"_Your _life?" Artemis repeated slowly, eyes going to his neck again, "Wally is everything okay?"

_They do not care about you. They lie to you._

For that moment, Wally thought that Artemis actually sounded concerned, "I- yeah, just slip of the tongue." He scrambled for an excuse, "I have to go."

And he did what he was best at, he ran. He only wished this would be the last time he ran away from someone close to him.

_To be Continued._

* * *

><p><strong>Final Thought: <strong>_* - afriend is a term coined by a few of my friends, Robin is an acrobat and Artemis is an archer, therefore, they are afriends, for more on this I highly recommend Heroes and Hormones by feeltheRUSH._

_Though I am the creator of Artefact and Artechoke, I'm clever.  
><em>

_I am back in my comfy casa de dorm room. After last years fiasco, I'm going to be trying to do better this year, but no worries, I will still be updating and you won't notice a difference because they'll still be as sluggish as hell. Currently I'm trying to finish these two works which are both going to be long by the looks of it, reading material to keep everyone occupied and from throwing rotted vegetables at me? I still have to start writing part four anyways. Until then, this is Fallen signing out saying, stay classy readers._


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **Guuuys, for a long time there I felt like if I coughed anymore, I was going to lose a lung. But, you didn't want to hear that. I MADE YOU WAIT A MONTH AGAIN, I'M REALLY SORRY.

**Summary: **His father is back and everything around him seems to be crumbling before his eyes. Sequel to Things Fall Apart.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, but I have some Dayquil and Nyquil, good stuff.

* * *

><p><em>The Center Cannot Hold<em>

_Part Four_

_"Looks like you can go back to school tomorrow." His Uncle grinned, checking his skin for any discoloration. "Bet you're happy about that."_

_"You have no idea." Wally replied, only managing a miniature version of Barry's own smile. Barry patted his nephew's shoulder._

_"School isn't that bad is it?"_

**_Tell him, _**_he shouted at himself, but hey, since when did he listen to the wise little voice in his head, "Nah, I just didn't do the homework that was due today."_

_"Get to it then and take out the garbage when you're done." Barry instructed giving the teen a shove towards his bedroom. _

_"Fine." he tried for a pathetic whine, pulling it off quite nicely. Once his door was closed, Wally slammed his head against it._

_**You never listen.**_

_"Oh, shut-up."_

.:...:.

"Just school, no big deal. Same old, same old. Get shoved into a locker, homework taken, slow teachers, awful food, I can do this." Oh man, he couldn't do this. Wally had been standing outside the school minutes after the bell had already tolled signaling the first class had begun. Still, he stood there the shadow of the brick school building loomed over him. He took a deep breath and lifted his foot to take a step forward and..now his foot was frozen. "Really? _Really? _Stupid foot."

He didn't know what his problem was, well he did know what a few of his problems were, it was the current one that stumped him. Minutes before the first bell he had every intention to go inside instead of standing still looking like an idiot. A chill that ran down his spine stopped him short, he felt like he was being watched. Normally, he would just write it off that he had been spending too much time a certain Boy Wonder and some of the ninja's tendencies was rubbing off on him. Problem was, he couldn't shake it off, he was paralyzed, the feeling continued to persist. Finally setting his foot back down, he tried again, this time to glance behind him.

Maybe being around Rob so much wasn't a bad thing after all.

A familiar car was parked on the other side of the street, the tinted glass made it difficult to tell who was inside or if there was even anyone inside the automobile, never the less Wally knew that car. He had seen it two days prior. Why it would be here now was beyond him, unless was his dad actually _watching him? _Like, stalking him? He heart palpitated painfully and his chest seized. He couldn't stay here, wasn't safe. He had to go hom-

No.

Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris would ask him why he left and then he would have to tell them and as stupid as it sounded, he didn't want to. He didn't want to involve them. It was his life and it was something that he was going to deal with. Besides, after Saturday it would all be over.

Still, the fact remained that he needed somewhere to go, a place to hide.

His feet were moving the second he knew where that place was.

**l-l**

"Be home, be home, be home, be home." He repeated to himself quietly as his knuckles rapped against the door. He listened for any signs of movement from the other side. This was the only place he could think of, he felt a wave of relief wash over him as the door knob turned and the door opened a margin. The person behind it stared at the speedster in confusion and irritation.

"Wally?"

"Hey, Roy." he greeted nervously, "Can I come in?"

.:...:.

_"Looks like we'll be here for a while." Speedy stated after fruitlessly trying to open the door to the industrial sized freezer. A cloud of white air wafted in front of him as he exhaled, behind him he heard a buzzing sound, probably Kid Flash vibrating to keep himself from getting too cold. Green Arrow thought it would be easier if they asked the Flash gang for help in going to find Count Vertigo. They decided to split up so that there would be knowledge and speed on both teams. On the bright side, he and Kid Flash had found him first, only they didn't know that they found him at the time. The two were in the abandoned industry, checking every building, when a solid whap to the back of their heads rendered them unconscious. He didn't know how long they were out, but Kid Flash had woken him up quickly informing them where they were and that both were with out their comms and Speedy was without his bow and quiver. "Flash and GA will be here soon."_

_He turned around, Kid Flash's back was turned to him his palm flat against the cold steal, his head was dipped low, the buzzing sound ceased. "You alright?" he asked. Kid Flash's scarlet clad hands slipped away from the wall._

_"I'm fine." he replied, moving away from the wall. Unconvinced, Speedy walked over and turned the speedster around, a rivulet of blood was coursing from his nose. "I tried to vibrate through the wall. It didn't work."_

_"I can tell." He grunted, tilting Kid's head back, "I thought you said you couldn't vibrate your molecules."_

_"I figured now was as good as time as any to learn how." Kid replied grinning, teeth chattering. Speedy felt the same, his exposed skin on his arms was starting to sting due to the frigid air. If he ever changed his costume, he was going to add sleeves. _

_Kid pinched the bridge of his nose giving a small cough, "What are we going to do now?"_

_"Sit, wait, and try not freeze."_

_Kid Flash tilted his head back to normal, rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand. He glanced around choosing to sit on a pile of tarp covered crates, coughing again. Speedy decided to remain standing, pacing the length of the refrigerated unit. Every other moment he would try the door again, shouting then listening to see if anyone was coming. His jaw clenched to prevent his teeth from chattering together, going through every motion to keep himself warm, from rubbing his arms, to cupping hands over his mouth and trying to ignite a spark of feeling in his fingers. Kid Flash pulled his knees to his chest and was rocking himself, eyes half lidded. Not missing it, Speedy snapped his fingers in front of the speedster's face, startling him._

_"You can't fall asleep, I thought you were a kid genius." he said giving Kid Flash a small shake, "Come on, talk to me, you're good at that."_

_The speedster hugged his legs tighter, "I'm cold."_

_The eldest snorted, "Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't noticed." He pushed the speedster over then jumped up on the crate beside him and threw an arm around the speedsters shoulders and pulled him closer, "You breathe a word of this, I'm turning you into a speed bump."_

_Kid Flash huffed, "I don't want to ruin your tough guy image." Stuttering every other word.  
><em>

_"Glad you understand."  
><em>

_Flash's partner trembled, "'s better than a basement."_

_At first, he thought that he misheard him, "What?"_

_Kid Flash started rocking again, forest eyes locked on the door, "Better than a basement."_

_"Yeah because nothing's worse than the threat of a spider crawling on you."_

_"Bu- but we know we're going to be rescued."_

_Speedy trained his eyes on the younger, "Kid, what do you mean by that?"_

_The speedster buried his nose into arms, "You can't tell Robin or anyone." his voice was muffled, he moved his head so that he could see the archer with one eye. Speedy nodded, silently promising not to. "Sometimes my dad used to lock me in the basement. It wasn't that bad, just sometimes I wished someone would come and you know, get me out."_

_"Why would your dad do that?" He asked, the white lenses of his mask narrowed into slits._

_"My dad doesn't like me." His voice was small, doing his best to avoid Roy's eyes._

_"So he locked you in the basement?" He was on the edge of shouting. When Kid didn't respond, shaking even harder than before, "Wally, what else-."_

_Kid didn't make a move to answer at first, "You know how some people hit things they don't like?" _

_He didn't feel the cold, didn't hear the hum of the motor, "He-." _

_For a second he thought that Kid Flash was vibrating, his shaking was increasing and Speedy doubted that being cold was the only reason, "I don't want to be here anymore Roy, I don't want to be here." Kid Flash choked out. Speedy pulled him over, resting his chin on top of Kid's hair, the icicles pricking his skin._

_"It's okay. Flash is coming. You're safe."_

_**You're safe**_

.:...:.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Roy asked tossing his "guest" a can of soda which was easily caught. Wally smirked, popping the can open before falling back into the worn sofa that he had sneaking suspicion that Roy just picked up on the side of some dingy street, that is if the stains were anything to go by.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Wally asked in return knowing full well that the archer had his first class in thirty minutes. The archer shrugged taking a seat on the other side, resting his socked feet on the coffee table effectively knocking a newspaper on the floor.

"Class was canceled." he replied nonchalantly.

"Skipping class again?"

Roy shrugged, slipping down in his seat, "I'm pretty sure nothing important is going to happen today." he said then drank from his can, "What are you running away from this time?"

Wally suddenly found picking out designs in the multi colored carpet far more interesting, "I didn't feel like sticking around Central today."

Patient as always, least as patient as he could manage, Roy said slowly, "Any reason why?"

"My dad is there."

The sound of aluminum being crushed caused Wally to turn to the archer beside him. If Roy noticed that his drink overflowed and hit the armrest, he didn't show any signs that he was about to try and clean it up, "What do you mean he's there?"

He dug the toe of his shoe into the carpet, "A few days ago, he showed up at our front door."

"Just like that?" Roy nearly growled setting the can down. Wally felt that he probably should tell Roy about his mother, but the idea was still foreign to him and accepting the truth was still difficult.

"Uncle Barry kicked him out-."

"Good."

"But he came to my school." Wally continued, "He wants to be a family again."

A string of curses flooded of of Roy's mouth as the archer pushed himself out of the couch. "What right does he have to come back and ask you that?" he almost shouted, Wally continued to keep his eyes downcast. Roy breathed deeply, slowly unclenching his hands, "What did your Uncle say?"

"I haven't told him." He said quietly, partly hoping that Roy didn't hear him, but guessing by the next slew of curses, he did hear him.

"Why the hell not, Kid? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is something that Barry would want to know."

Guilt seized him, he knew that his Uncle would want to know and that stupid know it all voice in his was constantly telling him that he should have told his Uncle yesterday when he got home after fleeing Gotham or even this morning at breakfast and yet he didn't, "I know." he sighed "But I wanted to handle this on my own."

"And you're here, I don't think you're handling it very well." Roy snorted, crossing his arms.

"I didn't say it was a smart plan."

He felt Roy's gaze on him without having to look, part of him really hoped the couch would some how open up and swallow him, "You're not actually considering it are you?"

Wally didn't say anything, which was all the answer that the older teen needed. Roy exhaled loudly then sat down, "Alright, you came here." Roy said and Wally knew he was struggling to sound calm, "How can I help? I can get rid of him if you want."

Some of the tension in him eased away as he managed a small laugh, "No thanks. I just, I don't know what to do."

"How hard is it? Tell him to go to hell, kick his ass, go home, eat dinner."

If only. "And I could top it off by throwing a hat at him."

A snicker, "Didn't you take my old hat? Use that."

The tips of Wally's ears burned red because he did in fact have the Red Arrow's old hat resting on one of his home souvenir shelves. "Yeah, but that's a souvenir." For a fleeting moment he thought of throwing the helmet of fate, it'd work better. The ginger archer huffed softly.

"Kid, I don't think I need to tell you that you already have a family and it isn't with him and unlike _that_ one, the one you have now cares about you, your Aunt and Uncle love you. Can you honestly tell me, that you're willing to give that up?" He asked, the stopped before adding, "And if you even think about it, I'll track you down and hit you alongside the head myself."

Advice from Roy, nothing could even compare. "Thanks, Roy. I think."

The archer shrugged, "My offer stands, I'll kick his ass if you want."

"Roy." Wally groaned, hand covering his face.

"He won't even know what hit him."

The smile came easy to him this time, he knew that Roy meant every word but, then again just like snark was Robin's way of showing concern, threats were Roy's way of showing that he cared, "Thanks, Roy."

"No problem, Kid."

_To be Continued_

* * *

><p><strong>Final Thought: <strong>_Would you believe me if I said that I am completely and utterly brain dead and that this chapter is complete crap? I would. If you stick with me, I'll make it up with the next chapter I promise! It'll be angsty and all that great stuff! For now I have two papers I need to do, a group project to focus on, and a huge list of fic ideas that I want to do, especially this one idea I have. This part stinks (especially the ending, but honestly, I went brain dead), I started out strong I think. There should be about three parts left and I think I've finally figured out how I want it to end. _

_I blame my brain._

_Until next time, this is Fallen signing out saying, stay classy readers. _


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **I..didn't make you wait a month?**  
><strong>

**Summary: **His father is back and everything around him seems to be crumbling right before his eyes. Sequel to Things Fall Apart.

**Disclaimer: **Um..I have apple cider, not Young Justice or DC comics.**  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>The Center Cannot Hold<em>

_Part Five_

He stayed at Roy's for the remainder of the day, if Wally had to guess, the archer only obliged to housing the speedster because it was an excuse for him to skip the rest of his classes. Of course, Wally didn't get to stay without having to do Roy a favor, which was finishing the physics homework the archer had started, that is if putting his name on the paper qualified as 'starting'. Every now and again, Roy would offer to chase Wally's dad out of Central, which was starting to become irksome. However, Wally understood Roy's intention or at least liked to think he did.

Wally easily caught the snack pack that Roy tossed to him before answering the phone. He made his greeting then looked over at Wally, "Yeah, he's here Barry." Wally smiled sheepishly then focused on his pudding cup, "No, he's fine." a pause, "I will, bye."

"Guess it's time to go." Wally stated, though he showed no signs of getting up. Roy leaned against the counter he set the phone on top of.

"Yeah, hope you have an excuse for skipping class made up."

_Crap. _"Uh." Wally stammered, even with accelerated thinking he hadn't thought that far ahead, "I should think of one."

Roy ran a hand through his hair causing some of it to stick up at odd angles, "Here's something you could try, just tell him what you told me."

Wally snorted, "You threatened to get my father, but I think Uncle Barry would actually do it."

"Hey, I would do it too." the speedster almost laughed at Roy's offended tone.

"No, you wouldn't because I don't want you to and we all know that underneath all that anger is a soft teddy bear." Wally grinned widely at the older red head. Roy just grumbled again, averting his gaze.

"Look Kid, I know you think you can do this on your own, but there are people who want to help and it doesn't hurt to accept that help."

"Says the guy who's been kicking it in sololand?" Wally said flatly.

"Don't be like Roy, there's your lesson of the day."

"That must of hurt you to say."

"Maybe just a little bit."

"Do you need a hug?"

"...Get out of my apartment."

**.:...:.**

"Did something happen? Were those kids bothering you again? Did you not feel well? You did your homework didn't you? Did you have a quiz today that you forgot to study for? Did you forget to eat breakfast? What happened?" Barry asked his voice rushed. Iris rolled her eyes cutting him off before he could go on.

"Why were you at Roy's, Wally?" she asked calmly.

He had been less than truthful with his Aunt and Uncle for the past two days, something he was not accustomed to. Wally was sorely tempted to continue it but, "I uh, thought I saw my dad at school today." he said in a rush of words, his Aunt blinked in confusion, unable to decipher what her nephew had just said while Barry's face was slowly turning red.

"_What? _Why didn't you call me?" his Uncle asked, the older man's knuckles turning white as his grip on the chair tightened. The teen squirmed in his chair, no sense in stopping now.

"Because I didn't want to, plus he might of talked to me a few days ago too." he finished quietly, careful to avoid eye contact with his Uncle, who was having a difficult time trying to remain collected.

"What did Rudolph say to you?" Barry sighed as Iris laid a hand on his arm, silently telling him to calm down.

Wally did not like telling this story, for all the guff Uncle Barry gave about Roy striking out on his own and reacting irresponsibly, the two shared plenty of similarities, meaning Wally had a pretty good idea how his Uncle was going to react, "He wants to talk to me this Saturday about us being a 'family' again."

The chair's material groaned as Barry's grip tightened, Wally wondered if his Uncle could actually cause the piece of furniture to snap. His Aunt was probably worried that it was possible, "_Barry." _Wally nearly forgot in all this, that next to him, his Aunt was the closest family that his father had left and seeing her husband reacting in this way could not be easy for her.

Barry released the chair taking a steady breath and a step back, "Why didn't you tell us sooner, Wally." he asked.

"He's my dad and I guess, I thought, I know I didn't want you to know, it's my dad, my problem." he said gripping the fabric of his jeans.

Iris took the seat next to him, resting her hand on his knee, "Wally, I know you don't like it, but you are still a child and this isn't something you should face by yourself."

"Where did he tell you to meet him?" Barry cut it, squashing any possible sentimentalism. Wally kept his mouth shut tight, frowning Barry pressed, "Wally."

The ginger teen shook his head, "No, if I tell you, you're just going to throw him head first into a garbage can."

"No, I won't. Though that is tempting." he whispered the last part to himself. "Kid, you're not going to meet him."

"Do you trust me?" Wally asked suddenly.

"Of course I do Wally, you know that." Barry replied, his voice softer now.

"Then trust me to handle this on my own." Wally said sounding a lot braver than he felt, never really one to go against what his Uncle said. After all, one of the conditions for becoming Kid Flash was promising to do what his Uncle said, when he said it. Wally kept his gaze steady, not daring to look away from his Uncle.

Barry's shoulders sagged, "Alright kid, alright."

A small sigh of relief left Wally, a quick smile spreading across his face, that's all he needed.

**.:...:.**

Friday passed faster than Wally liked and usually days went by slower for him because compared to what he was and what he did, nothing could catch up to him. It was the world playing against him, he just knew it. Though he would have loved to missed another day of classes, apparently, missing two days in a row was not a good idea because of all the homework and lessons that he would miss. Of course, that was ridiculous, he could easily finish the homework in a few minutes with enough time to spare for him to make a plate of nachos. Still, he went and wished that the day would drag on like it usually did, but it didn't. Wally felt like he barely had the chance to blink before the final bell rang signalling that the students could head home. The rest of the day continued the same way, one moment he was stepping inside kicking his shoes off, the next he was waking up to the sun rising. Now, he was walking through the park, his mind spewing out random facts to keep himself calm.

_6,783,665,034,756,288,456,012,645_

That was how many move possibilities there were in a game of chess. If Wally had to guess he probably used nearly everyone of those moves at least once. He would never admit it to anyone if he was asked, but whenever he visited the park as Wally West, it wasn't to go walking, the joggers were taking up the sidewalk all the time anyways or to enjoy the peace cause really, there was no peace when there were little kids screaming their lungs out. Wally enjoyed playing chess and the chess boards that were available for patrons to play the game when they wanted to. Personally, Wally was always entertained when he beat one of the older men who automatically assumed that a kid wouldn't know the first thing about chess.

Wally could only wish that this moment was like a game of chess, so that he would have a skew of options available to him instead of the fair few. Logging those thoughts away to the back of his mind, Wally continued searching the park, his head continuing to fire off fact after fact; whenever someone sneezed, how fast the germs would spread, how many grains were in an average sandbox, just small facts, he was thinking about how many beats a hummingbird's did in a minute when he saw a man with brown hair sitting on the bench up ahead.

"Dad?" Wally said. Rudolph looked up from his newspaper, his mustache twitched in what Wally could only assume was a smile.

"Wallace! For a minute, I didn't think you were going to come, sit." he asked waving towards the empty spot next to him. Wally only glanced before returning to meet his father's brown eyes, he shoved his hands into his coat pockets.

"I can't stay. I only came to say I'm staying with Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry." He stopped himself before he could say 'I'm sorry', Wally had nothing to be sorry for. Rudolph set his newspaper down to stand in front of his son.

"Wallace, you don't belong with them, you belong with me." Rudolph said keeping his voice low as a jogger passed by them, not that it mattered the earphones probably muted any outside noise.

"Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry have treated me better than you did, I'm not leaving them." Wally stated firmly, standing just the slightest bit straighter. "My friends and family are here, I'm not giving that up for you."

Rudolph's hand found Wally's arm easily, yanking it so Wally's hand was pulled out of his coat pocket, "_I'm _your father, I'm your family, not them."

In the pit of his stomach a bubbling feeling began to surge upward, that statement sounded wrong, _felt _wrong. Glaring at Rudolph, Wally pulled his arm free, "_No, _you're not. You haven't been my father for a long time." he said, his voice nearly as cold as the wind that blew through his hair. "You lost your chance at having a family, don't ruin mine." he ended, turning away from Rudolph, Wally head back to the only place that he had ever considered his home.

Watching his son's retreating form, Rudolph knew that everything was about to get far more complicated than he wanted it to be. Never the less, when the first plan of action did not work out, there was always Plan B.

**.:...:.**

"Sorry about ditching you with Artemis the other day." Robin apologized to Kid Flash, brushing the dust out of his hair. Kid Flash shifted his feet, trying to find a more comfortable way to crouch, he seriously had no idea how both Robin and Batman managed to do this on a daily basis. The speedster peeked out from behind the car the two were taking cover behind, trying to get a better view of the scene that was occurring in the center of Happy Harbor.

"No problem, I left almost right after anyways." he responded. Robin moved beside Kid Flash trying to look as well, so far they hadn't appeared again though they both knew they probably would, they only had to wait**. **Robin nudged Kid Flash in the side causing the speedster to look at the acrobat oddly.

"You were acting funny the other day, more so than usual, what was going on?"

Kid Flash felt a twinge of guilt, Robin was his best friend and trusted the speedster enough to reveal his secret identity to him. The least he could have done is repay the trust in kind and come clean about the 'odd' behavior he displayed the other day. Except, the whole thing was behind him now, right? That meant that he didn't actually _have _to tell Rob if it was no longer relevant, "A few personal things, it's all cleared up now though, so no worries."

Knowing the Boy Wonder, Robin was probably unconvinced, "KF-"

_'Kid Flash and Robin, targets are twenty degrees east of the central clock tower. Surround and contain them before they are able to escape again.'_

Aqualad's voice buzzed in their comms, Kid Flash was thankful for the distraction. Having nothing better else to do on a Sunday, Kid Flash headed off to the Cave for the day with the consent of his Aunt, his Uncle was still wary of letting him out unsupervised. The speedster thought that he could waste the day his his butt handed to him by Robin playing video games while M'gann produced a seemingly unlimited supply of baked goods. He almost got that wish when Batman called them up to send them to investigate a disturbance in Happy Harbor and seeing as how that was where they were situated, there was no need for League involvement yet and he trusted that the Team could handle the matter on their own.

They figured the same, figuring it was just a small matter, like someone trying to be original and rob a bank. However, that wasn't what was going on, there was confusion when they jumped out of the bioship. There was no one there, just plenty of dust and overturned cars. They assumed that whoever it was must have left, Miss Martian was about to call the bioship back when their assumption was proved wrong when a blue and white streak impacted the Martian and sent her skidding across the pavement. Seeing her attacked, Superboy reacted on instinct going to return the assault but the attacker was already gone. Artemis' bow was taken from her in one second while in the next Superboy hit the dirt. Kid Flash was the one to point out that they were dealing with another speedster or as Miss Martian was able to tell, _three _speedsters. Pushed up against a metaphorical wall, Aqualad told them to take cover.

Kid Flash knew the others had to be nearby him and Robin, but there was something that he didn't get. Speedsters could have easily found them with ease and beat them as well, but they weren't and looking again towards Aqualad's coordinates, they looked like they were waiting. He couldn't decide if it was a good thing that Miss Martian was right about there being three of them, two of them were male and the third was obviously female with a mane of red hair. The trio wore what looked like blue and white jumpsuits, all of them wore cowls. Maybe it was just him, but it looked like they were _waiting _for something, did they want the team to attack.

Robin elbowed him in the side, "Come on Kid Daydream, lets go." the raven teen said before pulling a ninja and disappearing. Having no other choice, Kid Flash followed suit and went in skidding to a stop just to the trio's left. Aqualad and Artemis stood together opposite of him, the archer aiming her crossbow at them, while Aqualad had his water bearers ready, Miss Martian was with just above Superboy.

"We will give you a chance to give up peacefully." Aqualad said calmly, shifting his stance. Kid Flash watched apprehensively as the female nodded to the other two and then they all fell like dominoes. Aqualad and Artemis went down first, struck by a force in blue and white. Discs that could only belong to Robin hit the ground where the three speedsters were previously, exploding a second later. Kid Flash had to guess Miss Martian was attempting to stop them in their tracks. It took seeing the Martian impacting Superboy for him to break out of his trance and take action.

"You're not the only speedster." he called out chasing after one of them, had to be one of the dudes, seeing as how there was blur of red signalling that it was the chick. He expected a good race of who was faster, not for the chased to stop in their tracks and have the chasee hit him right in the back. The material of his suit scrapped against the rock, he mumbled under his breath as he went to push himself back up. When three shadows fell over him, he knew he was in deep dog doo. "Hey guys." he greeted, voice wavering just slightly.

The female looked to the other two, "Этот?" Wait. These guys were...Russian?

The tallest male nodded, "Да."

"Looks, guys I forgot my Russian to English dictionary at home, so could you help a fellow speedster out and speak English? Do you know any? We could get a trans..la..tor." A hand touched the pressure point near his neck and the next thing he knew, he fell into oblivion.

Robin ran forward once he saw one of the jumpsuits pick up Kid Flash and toss the speedster unceremoniously over their shoulder, "Hey! Let him go!" he shouted after them, drawing a birdarang disc from his belt ready to throw it at the free, but not wanting to hit his friend. They only looked at him for a second and then they were gone. They were gone, they had _Wally. _"KF!" he shouted to the empty air.

**l-l**

He slowly slipped back to consciousness, his senses coming back to him one by one. Jade eyes opened fractionally, Kid Flash tried to move his arms but found that he was unable to, "What?" he said groggily.

"Good, you're awake." His head snapped up at the familiarity of the voice that spoke, it couldn't be. "We need to talk, Wallace."

_To be Continued._

* * *

><p><strong>Final Thought:<strong>_ I was going to say something, but I can't remember what it was, hope it wasn't important. I think it was that I'm probably going to do monthly updates if my update trends are anything to go by. There should be about two or three parts left. I won't say anything and just let you guys form your own opinion on this chapter. And why didn't anyone tell me I've been spelling Rudolph wrong all this time? Heh, oh well. Alrighty, I'm working on some other things, but Center is always in my foremost thoughts. If you guys want to know what I'm working on, I have a to do list on my profile, you can look at it and call me crazy. I think that's all I have to say, til the next, this is Fallen saying, stay classy readers._

_Этот? -_This one?_  
><em>

_Да._ - Yes


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note**: Behind that thinly veiled annoyance directed towards me, I know ya'll love me, you're just too annoyed to admit it...okay fine, you might just be annoyed. I'm sorry, I really am, I've been having a hard time writing anything lately, not to say my mind hasn't been rampant with ideas, I just lacked the ambition to actually write them down. You can all thank an anon of Tumblr for this, it goes to show that if you bug me (no anon if you're reading this you did not bug me, you made me feel guilty) it causes me to have a rather large guilt trip and I update. Though, hopefully you won't have to do that. I'd like to apologize to one of my reviewers, I told them I'd have this finished before the New Year, I lied. I'm sorry.

**Summary: ** His father is back and everything around him seems to be crumbling right before his eyes. Sequel to Things Fall Apart.

**Disclaimer**: I think we've covered that if I did own it, Wally would never have an entirely happy life, there would always be angst and sadness behind everything...and everyone besides Kid Flash, Robin, Red Arrow, and Flash would have less screen time.

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><p><em>The Center Cannot Hold<em>

_Part Six_

"KF!" Robin shouted after his friend, even though he knew the ones who took the ginger speedster were already long gone. Gritting his teeth, Robin was barely able to contain a scream that wanted to escape as he kicked what looked like a muffler that had fallen from one of the overturned cars.

"Robin! What happened?" Aqualad asked as most of the dust cleared away. With not so much as a grunt, the Atlantean go back onto his feet, fixing the acrobat with hsi gray eyes.

"They took him!" Robin shouted pointing towards the direction he last saw their speedster and the speedsters that took Kid Flash.

"What do you mean they took him?" Artemis said crossing over, if he had to guess, she was looking around expecting to see Kid Flash jump out of nowhere.

"I mean, he's gone, kidnapped, captured, snatched, seized, he's _gone."_ he replied shouting the very last word, the lenses of his mask now white slits.

Artemis took a small step back before righting herself, straightening her shoulders trying to make it seem that she wasn't fazed by Robin's small outburst, "Okay, you don't need to bite my head off." she said giving the boy wonder a small glare of her own, "Why would they take him?" she asked while at the same time, Miss Martian asked;

"Was he okay? Kid Flash wasn't hurt, was he?" her voice lined with concern, before Robin could answer either of the inquiries Aqualad cut him off before a word was uttered.

"Miss Martian, do you think that you could get a fix on Kid or any of his kidnappers?" he asked the Martian. She looked in the direction that Robin had previously indicated, he could see the doubt cross her face even as she touched her temple. Her forehead creased while she concentrated, barely three seconds passed before she shook her head.

"They're too far out of range, I can't hear them." she affirmed, dropping her hands again, Superboy lifted a hand, settling it on her shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Why would they only take Kid Flash and not all of us." Superboy asked, truth be told Robin had been wondering the same. However it wasn't the only thing that irked him, while the others continued trading questions with each other, Robin's thoughts drifted. The fact that it had been people who had super speed could not have been coincidence, and people normally did not wreck an area and kidnap someone even though they clearly had the upper hand, a puzzle that he intended to piece together. There were only two people he knew that would probably know the cause and luckily one of them was on speed-dial.

Artemis turned to Robin, raising a thin eyebrow as he activated his gauntlet, the transparent screen appeared before him, "What are you doing?"

"I'm calling Batman."

**.:...:.**

"Ow." Wally mumbled under his breath, wishing he could rub the back of his head. His head having automatically snapped back once he heard his father's voice, smacked against the solid surface he was currently trapped against. Ignoring the dull pain the persisted afterward, his eyes bearing down at his father through the glass that contained him, he twisted his arms that were held in place above his head in attempt to gain freedom, all in all he was getting an odd sense of deja vu. "What's going on?"

Rudolph stepped closer towards the tube that contained his son, his lips curling into a smile that made Wally's stomach churned uncomfortably and causing the speedster to become disturbingly aware that his cowl was pulled back, which meant his father _knew. _What did Artemis say about him? Fast with his feet but his mind moved about as fast as molasses? Stinkin' archer and being right in the worst circumstances. "I didn't like how we ended things before, I never really had the chance to explain everything to you, son." Rudolph explained, least that was what it probably was _supposed _ to be, an explanation. Seeing the teen pulling on his restraints, Rudolph turned towards a small panel that stood beside the tube. Wally didn't know what his father pushed, he did know that a little warning would have been nice before he was released and fell to the bottom with a small _umph. _

"And so you decided to _kidnap _me?" Wally scoffed standing up, "I wasn't sure before, but now I know you're definitely a shoe in for the father of the year award." His father seemed unfathomed by the less than subtle insults that Wally was making or the sarcasm behind the comments, his eyebrow twitching giving the only inclination that he took some annoyance with it. Annoyed himself, Wally slammed his hands into the glass that contained him, the dull _thud _causing a small twinge of pain that quickly went away, "Let me out of here."

His father shook his head, "If I did that son, you wouldn't listen to what I have to say." He placed his own hand on the material that was acting as a barrier, "It's perfect really, it may seem simple but the material is ideal for those with super speed, impossible to escape, even if you try to 'vibrate' your way out, you'll get a nasty shock, though from what I've gathered you aren't able to do that particular trick." Wally glowered as Rudolph's hand dropped away, "I didn't want to have to subject you to _this, _Wallace but with Barry interfering, I knew there wasn't any other option."

"Then talk already." the teen snapped.

"There's something that you're too young to understand, Wallace. A father's pride in his own son," Wally wanted to laugh, "And like any father, I wanted a son that I could be proud of and before you were born, I was promised that I would have such a son." Wally blinked in bemusement, what did that mean? "Instead, to put it mildly, I got _you _instead. I spent years, thinking that a mistake had been made, do you know what it's like to be lied to, Wallace? You pledge yourself to another and expect something in return but instead you get _nothing._" The speedster was dumbfounded, the only thing that he was sure of was the spark of anger growing for every word that his father spoke, "At least, that's what I thought at first."

His father began to pace, "You see, Wallace when you were younger you were ordinary," he stopped, "No, not even that, you were less than ordinary, bad grades, no back-bone, and you failed at nearly everything you attempted." Wally's hands clenched tightly into fists, his nail biting into his skin even through the fabric of his gloves, "Even through all that, you were still my son and then Allen thought he could just come along and take you away from me." Rudy's face was become redder until he exhaled slowly, "He succeeded, but you already knew that. Then a few years later, the media began to talk about a new hero, Flash's side kick, _Kid Flash. _Needless to say, it didn't take me long to figure out who it was, which led me straight to who the man behind the red cowl was." He stopped moving, "And in that moment, I knew that I had finally received what they promised me years ago, a powerful son, I only had to get you back from those who took you from me and here we are Wallace."

"What the hell are you talking about? Who is they? What promise?" Wally shouted hitting the glass, emphasizing his words. Rudy started to make his way towards what Wally had gathered was the only exit.

"I'll explain everything in time, you should try to make yourself comfortable for now, we'll be leaving soon."

"I think you're forgetting that _kidnapping _a superhero, let alone a teen gets attention, my team and Flash are going to find me." he snapped.

Rudolph paused in the doorway, "I know that Wallace, I plan on them coming. Trust me, they won't be a problem, not for me and not for anyone else after today." he said, leaving Wally alone, realization as to the meaning behind the words dawning on the speedster's face.

**.:...:.**

"Someone tell me what in the world is going on." the words leaving the Scarlet's speedster mouth the second he stepped foot into the cave. The team looking from the Speedster to Batman, a few (Artemis and Miss Martian) a bit surprised by the tone of Flash's voice, the others keeping themselves calm, perhaps knowing if they said anything, Flash's mood wouldn't get any better.

Batman leveled the Flash with a single look, "Kid Flash has been kidnapped." he informed, what could be seen of his face remained neutral. Flash could not say the same, his brow knitting together stopping before the Batman leaving a blur of red behind him.

"He was kidnapped? _How? When?_" shaking his head, "No, nevermind that, tell me who took him." When the Dark Knight showed no hint that he was about to answer, Flash snapped, "Now, Bats."

The caped crusader turned away from the speedster, activating the holo-computer, the blue screen lighting up the center of the room, "He was taken by three masked speedsters that the League's computer nor my own have any information about. It's too early for a ransom or some kind and there are no clues that would hint towards one of your criminals or anyone else."

Flash looked over the screen that was being displayed, a map of Happy Harbor, "What does that mean?" something in the back of his mind told Flash that he knew what had happened, but against what could be considered his better judgement, he chose to ignore it deciding that it had to be irrelevant.

"They destroyed three blocks, but nothing that could be considered permanent damage, harmed no civilians, or stole anything of value." Batman went on.

"Are you saying that these guys came to Happy Harbor just to kidnap Wally?" Superboy asked, voicing the thoughts that were slowly circulating around the room.

"Yes. Flash, do you know anyone who would want Kid Flash?"

The feeling became more persistent within the last few moments, "His father." he replied reluctantly, not wishing to have to explain Kid's entire history in front of his friends who, guessing by their puzzled expressions, knew nothing about it. "But I don't think that he could be behind it." he finished. Batman didn't respond, only focused his attention back to the holo-screens.

Robin looked around his mentor, "What are those?" he asked, seeing lines spread across the map.

"Super sonic disturbances, this satellite picks up objects that are moving faster than sound, usually they tend to be jet craft, but within the last hour, there are only these three." Batman stated, following the three separate sources to their ending point. Sensing the speedster's next intended move, he turned to face Flash, "You are not going in alone, you don't know who you're going up against, this is not the time to go into a situation head first."

"I'm not going to sit around here while you plan, Bats, I'm going." Flash said, lowering his voice, challenging Batman to stop him, both knowing that he could not.

"We are going." Aqualad announced, the two older heroes shifted to look at the Atlantean, "Kid Flash is a member of our team and was taken when he is with us and you cannot stop us." the rest of the team stood resolute behind their leader.

The Dark Knight stared at the five teens before nodding, "You're more than capable, you'll be assisting Flash." he relented starting to run a schematic on the building that Kid Flash was located. "I'm sending the blueprint of the building to Robin's gauntlet. I'll be communication with Manhunter."

Flash nodded, "I'll meet you there." he said, knowing the team would be taking the Bioship, something that he was not seeing as a option for himself. After Aqualad's affirmation of the order, the Scarlet Speedster was gone.

_To be continued_

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><p><strong>Final Thoughts:<strong> _AHAHAH..__oh shoot me. Not worth it? Yeah, probably not, BUT HEY THIS PART IS DONE. LETS CELEBRATE, DR. PEPPER AND GARDETTOS AT MY PLACE. __WOO. Maybe now I can work on some of my other stuff. No. Not maybe. I SHALL. I should get some sleep. It's late. But yeah, the usual, I didn't proofread this cause I'm a butt-tard. And did you guys know that Rudolph's name is actually Robert? I didn't, but I'm not about to go back and change stuff, so screw the canon, I like my head canon better. So, til the next part, this is Fallen saying; Stay classy readers. _


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** No. This is not a hallucination, I did update. Yes. I made you all wait. Yes. I am awful at the whole responding to reviews thing. But, I want you to know that I appreciate every single one of them, I'm sorry I took forever to update this, trust me it was never my intention to leave this for so long. I've felt so brain dead lately when it comes to writing fics though and it suuuuucks.

**Summary: **His father is back and everything around him seems to be crumbling before his eyes.

**Disclaimer: **Gather children and you shall hear, the well known tale of how Fallen does not own Young Justice or a buccaneer.

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><p><em>The Center Cannot Hold<em>

_Part Seven_

Glass, maybe not even half an inch thick, clearly it was not sound proof, else he would not have been able to speak with his father a few minutes prior. It seemed perfectly normal, you know if you look past the fact that it was entrapping him. He wanted to say it should be a piece of pie to break through it, in fact that's what he said seconds ago, when he rammed his fist into it. But holy hell, the thing was stronger than it looked, Kid Flash thought as he shook his hand, waving away the short burst of pain. Okay, so much for plan A.

Plan A never worked anyways.

Alright, what was it that his dad said before? Something would happen if he tried to escape using his powers? A bubbling feeling began in the pit of his stomach, he hated how his dad pretended to know about him and his powers. Sure, Rudolph knew he was Kid Flash, but where did he get off saying he knew what Wally could and could not do. Knitting his brow together, Wally placed the palm of his hand flat against his prison's surface.

He could do this, it was all about concentration, right? He was usually warned against trying to vibrate through solid objects, the first time he tried to do it, he nose played the part of 'Old Faithful', Aunt Iris was not too happy about the stains on her new carpet. The only time that he did manage to vibrate himself through something, well, the outcome was less than pretty. _Don't think about that now, _Wally scolded himself. This time is was going to be better, he had more training. _Think like Flash, be like Flash, _his own mantra repeating itself in his head. Though, that probably only applied to Superman or was that 'What would Superman do?'

Wally shook his head, he really needed to concentrate. Trillions upon trillions of molecules moving at the same time, through the object, no problem. Squeezing his eyes shut, he felt himself start to _move. _It was kind of like his entire body going to sleep at the same time, needles pricking his body then everything began to feel jumbled. Knowing it was his moment, Wally pushed his hand into the wall of glass.

Then a jolt of electricity traveled through his body, breaking him from his endeavor as the shock coursed through him. His back arched as he pulled away, his back hitting the other side of his unorthodox cell before sliding to the ground. The speedster took a moment for everything to come back into focus and for the worst part of the pain to subside, "That was awesome." he groaned swearing that he was smelling burnt hair, which was most likely his own.

Careful to avoid touching the walls, he lifted himself back up. So _that _was what his dad meant when talking about a 'nasty shock', Wally didn't think he was being literal. This had to count as child abuse, Wally hoped Rudolph was happy that any chance that he would get the father of the year award was just tossed out the window.

Joking aside, Wally was trapped…er, in both a physical and metaphorical sense. That was his last resort plan, he could make a small tornado like he had done before, but if that didn't work it would suck up all the oxygen and he needed that for breathing purposes. But he could not just stand here and do nothing while his friends walked into a trap. Sure, his dad was mortal, he had no powers (least none that Wally knew of) but a lot of the baddies Wally went up against didn't either and sometimes they were the ones that dealt the most damage. He needed to find a way out and warn the others, his dad thought he had Kid Flash trapped, but he was threatening his friends and family. Besides after years of having an absent father, Wally was not in the mood to prove his father right.

He pressed both of his hands against the glass and tried again.

**.:…:.**

This could not be the place, there was nothing here and he had made sure of it. When Flash arrived at the coordinates, he figured he find something like a warehouse, an abandoned building, hell even a shack. But this? All that was here was a bush that a rabbit had scampered out of in fright when he arrived. Woods, that's all, a small clearing up ahead, but no buildings, no sign of life besides small furry woodland creatures. Bats must of made a mistake or maybe he had made a wrong turn, whatever it was he was wasting time, something he could not afford to be doing. Just as he was about to leave, the rush of wind that buffeted the surrounding area stopped him, though he couldn't see anything, he knew what it was.

The bioship became visible again once it set down in the small clearing, flattening the grass beneath it. There was no way they all had bad directions, he waited until Aqualad stepped out before approaching, "I can't find anything," he turned his attention to Robin once the young acrobat joined them, "You sure this is the place."

Robin lit up his gauntlet, nodding, "This is the place." he looked up, his eyelets narrowing as he took in their surroundings. Turning the hologram off, Robin looked over his shoulder, "Do you see anything, Superboy?" The super-clone, narrowed his eyes turning looking in every direction before he perked up, bounding off without a word of warning. No one bothered to exchange a glance before following.

Flash arrived first (for obvious reasons) in time to see Superboy tearing apart a group of bushes, revealing a set of doors set deep into the ground. Clearly, Flash needed to work on his surveying skills, but his nerves were borderline frayed. Superboy gripped the handles and looked ready to pull the doors off the hinges and he probably would have if Aqualad had not stopped him.

"Superboy, wait!" Aqualad ordered causing the super to stop. "We can't precede without coming up with a plan first." he explained further seeing that Superboy still had not released his grip.

Superboy's nostrils flared, "We break it, save Kid Flash and leave, _that's _our plan." he growled at the team's leader. Flash glanced between the two, Aqualad seemed unfazed by the animalistic tone, though considering how long they had worked together, it was not much of a surprise.

"I am just as anxious as you my friend, but for all we know there could be traps in wait for us if we go in blind." the Atlantean turned his attention to Robin, who quickly picked up on the invitation.

"If I can find a port, I'll be able to jam any traps that are set, I'll go in first and signal you guys when it's safe." the youngest volunteered. Having been silent long enough, Flash spoke up.

"I'm going with you." he stated, "He's my family and you'll need back-up if something goes wrong." Flash knew by all rights this was the team's mission, but he'd be damned if he was going to just sit back and wait for the go ahead.

"I'll go too."

They turned simultaneously towards Artemis, the archer narrowed her gray eyes, daring any of them to challenge her, "I'm going." she said again, tightening her grip on her bow, "And you can't stop me." she added looking pointedly towards Aqualad.

The Atlantian seemed to hesitate before nodding, "Alright, Robin, Artemis, and Flash will go in first, Miss Martian." he turned towards the Martian, "Set up a mental link, when you're finished, Superboy, Miss Martian, and myself will come in. If any of finds Kid Flash, secure him." When the others gave their confirmation, Aqualad nodded to Flash and the two non-powered side-kicks, "Good luck."

Superboy pulled the metal doors open and stepped aside, allowing the three of them to descend the poorly lit steps.

**.:…:.**

_He was on fire. _His insides were boiling and everything _burned. _Wally bit down on his lip to stop himself from screaming, nearly biting through his lip. He was only dimly aware of the copper liquid filling his mouth. He couldn't stop, he had to keep going, he knew that his arm had to be through the glass already, the electricity coursing through his entire body seemed to intensify the more he pushed. Blood dribbled down his chin as he tucked his head closer to his chest, _almost there, almost there _Wally told himself. A strangled noise made its self known as another shock ran along his arm, feeling his strength starting to fade, Wally _pushed. _

There was the sound of glass shattering and Wally fell through empty space, hitting the floor with a dull _thud_, shards of his previous prison falling on and around him. The speedster remained paralyzed on the ground, opening his eyes unable to remember when he closed them to begin with. "Woo." he slurred, his tongue thick. At the very least he can say he vibrated through something, even though his nose was quickly forming a red puddle beneath around his head.

The speedster twitched his fingers, grunting as the small motion still caused pain. _Come on, get up, _he berated himself, this time moving his entire hand, laying his palm flat on the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut as he slowly began to push himself up, barely noticing as a few tears fell down his cheek. His boots slipped on a piece of glass, nearly causing him to collapse again before he managed to find traction.

Wally wrapped an arm around his abdomen, the burning agony he felt only seconds before still remained there, it was not as intense but nevertheless _it hurt. _After a few more grunts and barely concealed cries, the speedster managed to pull himself back onto his feet. Well, at least partially, having curled into himself, taking deep breathes as that would magically make the pain go away.

Though, maybe fairy magic did exist, as some of his previous tortures ebbed away the tiniest bit. Maybe at this rate he could manage to take a few steps forward. Both arms around his stomach, Wally slowly straightened himself. He could dally anymore, after this was over then he could wallow in agony, but now he had to get out of here before his uncle or the team arrived. He was not going to let them walk into some kind of trap, he couldn't let anything happen to them.

Albeit slowly, he made his way out of the small room, "My favorite, identical hallways." he coughed, spitting out a glob of blood then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. Already he could feel his skin tightening from the blood that already stained it from the nosebleed that was still going, but at least it was less 'Old faithful' and more of a dribbling faucet.

There was nothing distinctive about either of the hallways, both had smooth gray walls and dim fluorescent lighting, nothing to tell him where he was or which way the exit was. Rather than playing 'eenie meeny miny moe' Wally choose the right hallway (he read somewhere that going left was bad luck anyways).

**.:…:.**

His feet itched to go ahead without Robin or Artemis, if he was on his own he might of found Kid by now. Sure, it would have been a very Batman move, but the 'Dark Knight's methods did actually work every now and then. However, he could not risk leaving the two teenagers alone, if he left and something happened to either of them, Flash would not be able to forgive himself and he knew Wally wouldn't either. So, he ignored the urge to run ahead, instead following Robin as the acrobat searched for any cable ports that he could use. Pulling up the rear Artemis followed cautiously, an arrow already notched in case.

So far, they had found neither a clue as to where Kid could be or any sign that there was life down in these hallways. Robin seemed sure footed as he quietly led the trio down the maze of identical tunnels, but no luck if finding something that would give them a definite location to where Wally was. Flash was edging towards the belief that they were on a wild chase, that maybe his nephew wasn't here at all.

Robin froze in front of him, "Camera." the boy wonder hissed, taking a step back, out of said camera's range.

"Where?" Artemis asked, trying to look past Flash. The speedster on the other hand already spotted the bit of surveillance, though it took him a few moments, the pale gray dome nearly blended in with the wall perfectly.

"Least we know someone is home." Robin stated quietly, "And I think they already know we're here." he added, looking behind them. The acrobat cursed himself mentally, spotting an identical camera behind them.

"Then let's stop with the covert." Artemis snapped, firing her arrow that one of the cameras. The dome sparked as the arrow struck it, just as quick as the first, the archer turned effectively destroying the other. _They know we're here, _Flash heard Artemis' voice in his head as she alerted the other three outside.

_We're right behind you, _Superboy replied.

"Let's go." Robin said drawing a birdarang from his belt before darting forward, Flash and Artemis right behind him.

_Almost there, Kid_

_**.:…:.**_

"Almost there." Wally mumbled under his breath, arm wrapped protectively around his stomach as he leaned heavily against the wall. It probably only had taken him a few minutes to reach the end of the hall, but it felt so much longer. He blamed the way his feet were dragging and nearly stumbling over every invisible object. At least his nose had stopped bleeding, small victories. Taking another breath, the speedster pushed himself off the wall and continue to hobble his way towards the end of the hallway.

Part of him wanted to cry in relief as he saw a door, but he was a man, that was what he was going to tell himself. He'd chuck his manhood aside once he made it out of here. Ignoring the snags of pain, he ran over to the door and twisted the door knob, another relief as the door was unlocked.

But all relief that he had previously slipped away as he saw the person standing on the other side, "I was wondering when you were going to show up, Wallace. To be perfectly honest, I thought you would of made your way out of your cell a little sooner." Rudy tsked, turning away from the panels of monitors, camera footage of the entire layout of the place, whatever it was.

"You knew I was going to get out? Then why bother trapping me at all?" Wally asked, taking a small step inside the room, eyes locking onto another door. _Is that the way out? _he thought, tearing his gaze away to latch back onto his dead.

"I was curious." Rudy admitted, his brown eyes swept over his son's body, probably taking in the state of the speedster's condition, "But maybe it was a bit too much for you, hmm?"

Wally's brow furrowed, "Let me out of here, maybe the League will let you see some sunlight every few weeks if you do." Wally snapped, eyes drifting towards the other door again.

Rudy tsked again, "I can't do that, not yet at least. I have to hold up my end of the deal, in exchange to having you back, I have to eliminate any threats to the operation."

Maybe Wally should relish in the fact that he was actually part of one of those cheesy scenes where the villain gives up his entire plan, but considering how he felt like passing out was a super idea right now, he'd hold off till later. "What do you mean?"

"You and I will slip out the back door, while your friends are crushed, well." Rudy paused, "I think that kryptonian might be able to survive, so at the very least there will be someone to tell the tale." Wally didn't need to see his father's face to know that he was smirking. The pain in his stomach turned into something else as he clenched his hands, the skin beneath the gloves turning white. Rudy looked over, giving Wally a simpering glance, "Wallace don't look at me like that, after that little stint you pulled do you really think you're in any kind of condition to save them? You look like you're ready to pass out any second now."

His father turned towards him fully, "I know for a while, you're going to fight me every step of the way, I wouldn't expect any less. But given some time, you'll forget about them, you'll have a new family, new friends." he gestured widely, "Once you see the light son, you'll understand that you are better off without them."

"_Better off?_" Wally repeated, "You think that I'm going to just let you destroy everyone I care about and go with you because I'll be _better off?_" he snapped, "The only way that I would be 'better off' was if you hadn't showed up at my door a week ago! You spent nearly my entire life treating me like dirt or not even bothering to be part of it and you think you can just take away everything that I've made for myself since then?" he hissed at the very end, whether from pain or anger he wasn't sure, most likely a combination of both.

By the time he finished, Rudolph's face was starting to turn a dark shade of red, "Wallace, if you don't-" years of frustration, anger, and all the turmoil that he had gone through these last few days all accumulated into one satisfying right hook to his father's jaw.

"Shut up." Though, guessing how Rudolph landed like a limp noodle, Wally may have unintentionally put some extra force behind the blow and by unintentional, he meant completely intentional. Uncurling his hand, Wally stepped over his dad's unconscious body towards the monitors.

His eyes scanned over every screen, mapping out the labyrinth of tunnels in his head. He had to get to the team and his Uncle, they didn't know what was about to happen. Positive that he had the location marked, Wally knelt beside his father, ignoring the aches the movement brought on and grabbed Rudy's wrist to examine the watch. Just under four minutes before everything collapsed. Dropping the wrist, Wally ran out the door.

**.:…:.**

Flash was starting to think he'd have better luck finding kid in a corn maze. The rest of the kids had caught up easily after Flash, Robin, and Artemis had made a few wrong turns. Robin was able to have the camera feed stream onto his gauntlet but with no differentiating traits between halls, it took them a while to figure how to navigate themselves.

The odd thing was, besides the taste of whoever decorated the place, was that they had run into no trouble. None of the wonder trio that the team had gone against before, no security system, the lack of defense was starting to put Flash on edge. No one who went the trouble to kidnap a protégé of the Justice League would do nothing to stop those who came to the rescue. None of it made sense.

Robin stopped, "Wait." he ordered, "I thought I saw…" he trailed off toggling with the holographic screens, enlarging one in particular, "I saw something, but it was moving too fast to make out and it's coming this waAAGH." the last part cut into a scream as that object collided with Robin, sending him and the other toppling across the floor.

Seeing the mix of red and yellow, Flash disregarded the fallen Boy Wonder in favor of lifting the other sprawled form, "Kid!" the word burst out of him, a mixture of surprise, relief, and fear. The latter bubbling up once seeing that his nephew was not alright, dried blood flaking off his face, cowl gone, torn suit, and he did not miss the way how the younger speedster automatically curled a protective arm around his midsection. The redhaired teen quickly grabbed his Uncle's arm.

"We have to go, he rigged the place to explode, to bury everyone." Wally managed to get out between gasps. Luckily, Barry was a quick thinker, he let his nephew lean on him so that he could catch his breath then turned his attention to the rest of the teens.

"You heard him, let's get out of here." the rest of the team nodded their in understanding, Artemis helping up the fallen acrobat who still looked fluster from being pile drove by Kid. Flash dipped his head, "You alright to walk?" he asked Wally.

Wally bobbed his head, "Yeah, I'm good let's go." he looked over to his team, "I'm okay." he reassured them when they hesitated to move forward. Though the problem was solved for them when the walls and floor began to vibrate.

Aqualad took this as incentive, turning back around "Come, we don't have much time." the others picked up on it and started to run for it. Flash brought up the back, partially supporting Wally, the vibrations began to pick up in strength, the walls began to shake and Flash swore he heard something fall from behind them.

Just as Flash saw the steps that led outside, Kid Flash came to a full stop taking Flash by surprise. "Kid, what are yo-."

Wally cut in, "My dad, I don't know if he got out, I," he stopped, "I have to go back." he said, starting to pull away. Barry grabbed him, stopping Wally from running back.

"No. You can't go back there." everything around them rumbled again, a piece of the ceiling broke off hitting the ground three feet away from them. "It's too dangerous, your dad probably got out already." seeing that Wally hesitated, Flash grabbed both of his nephew's shoulders, "I'm not losing you again Kid." Flash could not tell if it was the ground's doing, but Wally shuddered.

"Okay." he whispered, "Okay." he said again, nodding. Flash gave a small smile before picking up his nephew, ignoring the yelp of surprise, and running the rest of the way out, just as another piece of earth fell in the same spot they had just been standing.

The others were already outside, all visibly relieved when Flash stepped outside. Without being told so, the Scarlet speedster set Wally back onto the ground, a hand on his shoulder to keep him study. Muffled explosions went off behind them, the ground rumbled beneath them as the entrance to the tunnels collapsed.

They stood in silence as they watched the ground that covered the labyrinth sink into the ground. Once the vibrations stop, Wally took a step forward, scanning the surrounding area. His voice broke as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Dad?"

_To be concluded_

* * *

><p><strong>Final Thought: <strong>_ROUND ROBIN, YUUUUM. Oh man, I'm not even sorry about how crappy this chapter is. BUT IT'S ALMOST OVER. PRAISE BATMAN. _

_You guessed it, this is unbeta'd and I didn't even bother looking it over for grammar or spelling mistakes. Look ma, improper sentence structure._

_TIL THE NEXT AND __**FINAL **__CHAPTER, THIS IS FALLEN SAYING, stay classy readers._


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